From Dodger Insider magazine: Becoming Andy
Pages has redefined himself on offense and defense
By Megan Garcia
It’s an immense accomplishment to reach the Major Leagues after a winding journey of extreme peaks and valleys. But to remain a big leaguer, and one with longevity, it necessitates a different approach — both mentally and physically.
It’s the exact sentiment that was emphasized to Andy Pages after a rough start to his sophomore season. It took a handful of weeks and many voices, but once he embraced failure and learned to navigate past it, Pages took off.
His numbers since late April reflect it.
What he needed was a routine and peace of mind. Now the highs have become commonplace for him.
“What helped me a lot was talking to the coaching staff and Dave Roberts. They gave me the confidence that I needed,” says Pages. “That’s what really helped me get to this point.”
Through 20 games this season, Pages was batting .159 and struck out 30.1% of the time. Then two fielding errors in six games to finish April were salt to his open wounds. The doubts crept in.
Pages tended to ruminate over his offense slump, which in turn impacted his overall play. He’d either press too much at the plate or have defensive miscues in center field as a result. Dino Ebel, the Dodgers third base coach and outfield instructor, was one of the people who identified what Pages needed.
“I sat him down and said, ‘We’ve got to come up with a process and a routine,’” Ebel says. “All the good players in Major League Baseball, all the elite players, they have a practice routine. Ever since that day, he’s been learning how to separate offense from defense, and that’s what makes a good player, and that’s what he’s been doing.
“He strikes out, he doesn’t take it to defense. If he makes a great play on defense, (he thinks), ‘It’s over now, how can I help my team offensively?’ Confidence and more experience have been on his side.”
Pages meets Ebel in the outfield before games to work on their practice routine. It consists of reading fly balls off the bat, approaching line drives and getting ahead of potential game situations that involve the fastest runners in baseball. It grounded Pages and helped him separate each component of his game.
Pages’ defense was the first notable change.
After his sixth-inning fielding error against the Cubs on April 22 put runners on second and third, Pages let it go. It didn’t cloud his mind when he threw out Ian Happ at home in the next at-bat to complete a double-play that started with a fly ball to left against reliever Anthony Banda. The Dodgers ended the inning unscathed.
He’s added a few more highlight plays since then, like three home run robberies this season.
“I think that he’s just freed himself up to just be a baseball player. I think there was a little bit of trying to please, trying to overthink, thinking a little too much on the mechanical side (of hitting),” says Roberts. “You see his play in the outfield now, you see his play in the batter’s box, I just think he’s just freed himself up mentally. It’s intrinsic.”
This refined and matured version of the Cuban outfielder has turned into one of the Dodgers’ most reliable and dynamic players since he recalibrated his mental approach. It’s also made him one of the best hitters in baseball since the week of April 21, when he was named the co-National League Player of the Week after he went 13-for-20 (.650) with three home runs and six RBI.
That marked the turnaround for Pages.
Since that point, he is hitting .322/.340/.561/.900 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI. He also cut down his strikeout rate to 17.2%. It has many talking about Pages as a potential All-Star in 2025.
“I had to trust in the work that I do,” Pages says. “Obviously, I had to get to a point in my execution where I felt good and have trust in that to just go out and play.”
The rise and redemption of Pages has been celebrated by a close friend and mentor whose locker is only a few feet away from his in the Dodger clubhouse. Teoscar Hernández, the Dodgers’ left fielder and 10-year veteran, took him under his wing in 2024. Their bond strengthened as Hernández encouraged Pages to give the Dodgers the best version of himself regardless of his place in the lineup.
Hernández says he is proud of what Pages has accomplished in such a quick amount of time.
“He’s become really mature this year,” Hernández says. “Now he’s understanding that he is going to fail. He’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to make errors. There’s going to be times where he’s going to get a pitch in the middle, and he’s not going to hit it. He is more understanding of the things that are going to happen to him in his career.”
From Dodger Insider Magazine: Becoming Andy was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.